Two!

Jackson had his 2nd birthday party on Saturday. We had it at a park near our house and the weather was perfect. I really didn't expect many people to come, since a bunch of people from our squadron are over in Boise right now and it seems that people are always really busy during the summer, but we actually had a great turnout.

The party's theme was Curious George, because Jackson is completely obsessed with George right now. As soon as he wakes up in the morning he starts shouting, "George! George!" and hands the remote to whomever is closest in hopes of getting us to play one of the ten or so recorded Curious George cartoons that we have on our TV. He absolutely loves George.

Since my mom is here visiting and is a huge help with the boys, I was able to bake a double-layer sheet cake from scratch and decorate it with George's face. I was pretty proud of that cake... I did not expect it to turn out like it did!


Here's a pre-party picture of Mommy and her boys. It's a good thing we took this before the party, because none of us was looking too great afterwards. It's almost impossible these days to get Jackson to sit still and smile at the camera. So frustrating!

Daddy manning the grill at the park...

Jackson was a complete mess about 15 minutes into the party. Since it was his day, I tried not to freak out and let him get as messy as he wanted. He was having a great time walking around squeezing and drinking juice from a juice box and eating Cheetos (his favorite) and Sunchips straight out of the bag. Of course, his fingers, face, and shirt got completely covered in orange and sticky apple juice. He hardly ever gets chips and never drinks juice, so I tried not to think about the mess and just let him enjoy himself. :)

Some party guests eating lunch...

Here are some pics of us singing "Happy Birthday" to J. He was a little embarrassed at first with everyone looking at him and held his hat over his face. I guess he's not used to being the center of attention with so many people around! :)

It pained me a bit to cut into that monkey face, but it had to be done!

The party started around 11:30 and by 1:00 most of the kids were at or near meltdown point. It was funny because it was almost like we flicked a switch or something - 1:00 hit and the kids were done!

My dad flew into town right as the party was ending and had to eat lunch by himself. I'm sure he enjoyed the peace and quiet, though.

Here are the men chillin' at the house after the party and some naps... it was a fun day! We had the party a week earlier than J's actual birthday mostly because so many people are gone for the 4th of July, but the real reason for me is so that we can have cake twice! Chocolate cake is on the menu for his real birthday. :)

And yes, they're watching Curious George on TV in these pictures...